Did you know? In life, you regret inaction more than you regret taking action. What if you are right now in that position? – For example, you might regret not having taken the six weeks volunteer exchange program.

Six weeks doesn’t sound like a lot of time, doesn’t it? Yet, it is more than enough to transform you as a person.

We have thousands of volunteers each year to confirm this statement. Therefore…trust us!

All our international volunteers are people just like you—young people who are curious to learn about the world. And in the end, they get to learn more about something else. But more about that later.

So, if you want to explore and expand your horizons with Global Volunteer but aren’t sure yet, we have compiled answers to some of our most frequently asked questions. Enjoy!

1. Do I need to be a student?

We are frequently asked if you need a student status for Global Volunteer. Short answer? No.

You do not need to be a student to go with Global Volunteer. But you need to be at least 18 and not older than 30. This is thanks to its short duration, which allows many visas to be granted quickly.

However, this is not the case for our internship program, as a longer duration will require you to have a visa, and for this to happen, some visas will need your student ID to be issued more easily. 

2. Where do I stay?

Accommodation will vary. It will depend on the project. However, here are the options that can apply:

Global Host. What is this? Global Host is our program that allows families to host an international volunteer. We don’t accept just anyone; we review some requirements with interested families. Only those who meet the requirements can become global hosts.

It’s a great way to experience the local culture in its purest form, the family. If you travel alone, getting this insight into the local culture is a bit harder.

The other options are student dorms or apartments.

3. Do I need to be fluent in English?

No. If you can hold a simple conversation in English, that’s good enough.

Some projects will require you to have a higher level of English since you’ll be teaching English or doing other activities in English.

But a lot of our projects will instead ask for creativity. Even if you speak fluent English, the children you teach about the environment or other subjects don’t. You need to communicate the information to them using simple words, images, songs, games, etc.

4. When can I go on exchange?

We have projects all year round. You just need to have at least 6 weeks available for it. 

5. What do I get from Global Volunteer?

In short, the time of your life!

Our volunteers join this program to get to know the world better by contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals. However, through this process, they learn more about themselves than anything else. 
Why? It only happens when you leave the comfort of your home (parents and country) that you realize what you can do.

The new environment will require you to improve your interpersonal skills. If problems occur, you need to take action to solve them and prove creativity in setting up your sessions.

Yet, you are not alone! With you, you will have many other volunteers who have traveled to that country for that specific project. Therefore, you won’t make friends only in the country of your project but also build connections with people from around the world.

6. Why should I go for Global Volunteer and not other programs? 

We are aware that many attractive opportunities offer similar experiences to ours.

An international exchange is not something that has been introduced previously.

Yet, every opportunity has to offer something else. First and foremost, we at AIESEC focus on your leadership development as a young person.

For this to happen, in your initial meeting after being accepted to a project, an AIESEC member will host a space for you to decide what goals you want to achieve in your journey. These goals will be assessed throughout your stay on the project, and at the end of your experience, we will host a so-called reintegration seminar.

This seminar is designed to have you reflect on your experience, pinpoint your critical development moments, evaluate your initial goals, and set an intention for the upcoming period.

7. Can I go to any country in the world?

Not really.

Every AIESEC office will have a preferred list of outside AIESEC offices with which they collaborate. 

These are established based on multiple aspects. To name a few:

– how easy you get the visa. We don’t want you to apply for a visa we know has a low success rate.
– how many projects there are. 
– what the projects are focused on. 
– when the projects start

Bottom line

We hope this information was helpful to you. We are sure these weren’t the answers to all the questions. But feel free to always drop us a comment with any questions.

Who knows? It may become the topic of our next blog.

Until then, we encourage you to contact your local AIESEC office and follow us on social media if you want to check out what others have experienced with AIESEC.

And remember, take action now, or you might regret that you didn’t.